Saturday, June 23, 2012

LeBron James Completes NBA Ascendancy With Title in Miami

June 22 (Bloomberg) -- Tim Duncan took LeBron James aside after the San Antonio Spurs swept the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2007 National Basketball Association Finals and told James the league would soon be his.

While it may have taken longer than expected by many -- including Duncan, a two-time NBA Most Valuable Player and three- time NBA Finals MVP -- James now sits at the sport’s pinnacle after capturing his first championship with the Miami Heat.

Nine years after turning professional out of high school and two seasons into his move to Miami, James’s All-Star resume finally includes an NBA title, after the Heat upset the Oklahoma City Thunder 121-106 last night.

“It’s about damn time,” James said at the trophy presentation after being named Most Valuable Player of the Finals.

James pledged to produce multiple titles when he left the Cavaliers and signed with the Heat as a free agent in 2010. Last night’s victory to clinch the best-of-seven Finals 4-1 was his first step in delivering on that promise and may have also furthered his global brand.

James at 27 is younger than Michael Jordan was when he captured the first of his six NBA titles over an eight-year stretch. Jordan, the Hall of Fame player with whom James has most often been compared, was 28 and in his seventh season when he and the Chicago Bulls broke through in 1991.